"CatholicMatch Seemed Like the Surest Way to Find My Spouse!"
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“I got tired of hoping that coincidentally someone would be Catholic on other dating sites,” Kyle, age 38, recalls. “CatholicMatch always seemed like the surest way to meet someone who genuinely has the same values.”
He was having no luck trying to meet likely single ladies in person and liked the idea of a more systematic approach to dating that online provided. So, when in February of 2019, he sent Marimelle a message on CatholicMatch.
“Of course, she was smart and sophisticated . . . her lovely pictures helped!” he remembers. They chatted on CatholicMatch for about a week before swapping social media information to continue their connection.
They both felt that their conversation was in-sync, and started planning to meet up soon. It would take a little bit of planning, but they both were excited! Marimelle, 36, was a doctor and came from Manila–though she spent a fair amount of time with family in New York City. Kyle was a teacher originally from Kansas, but had an established career in South Korea.
Then the global lockdowns from a surprise pandemic hit...
So much for meeting in person early on! Instead of giving up, Kyle and Marimelle turned to technology to keep up their romantic connection. “We were on video chat constantly, if not on video chat, we would text each other,” Marimelle says. They spent a lot of their virtual dates praying the Rosary together, as well as watching movies via shared screens.
Finally, the day came when the airlines reopened. In January of 2020, Marimelle planned to meet Kyle when his plane landed at the La Guardia Terminal in New York! They were both anxious about finally getting to meet face to face, what with all the restrictions and requirements still in place for the pandemic.
“The anxiety melted away when we were together!” Marimelle says. They spent time meeting her family in New York, and then later, flew to Kyle’s hometown to meet his family too.
“I met her and her family all on the same day. Talk about jumping in with both feet!” Kyle laughs. Later on, he took Marimelle to his own hometown in Derby, Kansas, to meet his family.
Long-distance was not easy for them.
Their long-distance relationship continued for about a year until Kyle found himself frustrated with not being able to see Marimelle very often. He decided to grab the bull by the horns. “I committed to closing the distance and formalizing the engagement at the same time,” he states. How exactly did that go down?
“I gave her a budget and told her to pick out a ring because I was scared about making the wrong choice!” Kyle laughs. He also approached her mother to ask her blessing for the coming proposal.
So, Marimelle sent him a couple of links to rings she liked, and he ordered one and sent it to her house.
“As I opened the ring box he popped the question over Skype. It was very intimate and sincere. No bells and whistles but just between the two of us. I don't remember anything that he said but I remembered I was in tears after!” she recalls.
They had the most beautiful wedding!
Marimelle was delighted, and they planned their wedding for the next year of 2022.
They tied the knot on April 20th at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Manhattan, the city they now call home. Their reception was down under the Manhattan-Brooklyn overpass, also known as DUMBO to veteran New Yorkers.
All of their family and friends were able to make it out!
“It was lovely; she was lovelier,” Kyle says of the wedding.
They plan to relocate to New York City, where Marimelle is currently studying for her US medical board exams.